When I Met Her....

Her

*MACEY IN THE MEDIA*

Her

Laurel's POV

"So how come everybody's just seeing you if you're Mrs.Eaton's daughter?" Carley asks at lunch.

I met her in my third period Trig class.

"Well...uh..." I stutter, poking at my salad, "I was taking care of my elderly grandmother in Louisiana before I moved her."

"Oh." Carley says.

She seems to buy it, as well as everyone else at the table. Sarah from Math. Madison from World Geography, and Devon from Science(Chem 2) with Macey.

I don't want to tell anyone about my real mom. Here in Texas...here at Knightingale.....Steph is my mother and and elderly grandmother is my past.

"So Laurel, how do you like school so far?" Devon asks.

"Its cool, I guess. Everything's so big though and all the hallways look the same. I worry most of the time I going around in circles."

"Me too." Sarah reaches out to pat my hand from across the table, "and I've been here all year!"

I smile at Sarah. I like people like her, born an optimist. Then the bell rings, ending my lunch period.

We all get up and dump our trays and meet at the double doors, leading back into the main building. Devon stops walking and steps in front of me.

"Who's your 5th period?" She asks.

"Lancaster, English 4. " I answer.

I spent all 2nd period memorizing my schedule so my nose wouldn't be stuck in my schedule paper all day.

"Then your with us." Devon says.

Me, Devon and Sarah break into a group and Macey and Madison into another. I pass out my new number to everyone before we part ways in the direction of our class.

In Mr.Lancaster's class I feel freed. Its more of a free spirited learning environment unlike all my other hardcore classes.

"Welcome my young pupil. I hope I learn as much from you as you learn from me this rest of the year." Mr.Lancaster declares when I tell him I'm new.

He guides me to a seat in front of the class and gives me his class syllabus and a worn copy of Romeo & Juliet. Then he gives me a rubric to a 2 week assignment the class is starting on.

"My people, now we all know how much this assignment is worth for your final grade: 80%!!"

80%.!!!

"You will be annotating Romeo & Juliet in its entirety in the next 2 week so use your time wisely!!"

My chin drops. I look over my shoulder at Sarah and she shrugs with a sympathetic smile on her face.

"Go forth my good people and work!!" He says , thrusting his hands outward.

I look around and everyone is pulling out a tablet.

"Mr.Lancaster," I say with my hand raised.

"Yes Laurel?" He answers, looking up from the laptop on his desk.

"I don't have a tablet."

He laughs.

"Yes, I completely forgot. You'll have to get one from the teacher's lounge." He says knodding his head towards the door.

"Where's the teacher's lounge?" I ask, getting up from my desk.

"A few doors down from the main office. They're in a big black cart. You'll need an administrators code. Ask Ms.Rita, the secretary."

"Okay." I say.

I walk out of the classroom and start in the direction I think the main office is in. I turn a few corners, walk up a few hallways, and then I see a flag dangling from the ceiling that says MAIN OFFICE. I rush towards it and walk down the hall that should lead to the front desk when I see a brightly lit room with the door open. The sign outside the door reads TEACHER LOUNGE. Without hesitation I walk in and I see the black cart immediately. Its the length and width of a book case and has a tinted black glass door. Through it I can faintly see the tablets and the glow of the N symbol on the chargers connected to them. I start towards the cart.

"Eh umm!" Someone clears their throat.

I spin around quickly to the place where the noise came from. Across the room from the cart is a square table with four chairs. One of them occupied by Ms.Prior.

"Can I help you with something?" She asks.

"Uh..." I look around, my heart hammering against my chest, "Well Mr.Lancaster sent me to get a tablet."

"Alone?" Ms.Prior question suspiciously, raising her eyebrow.

"Um hmm." I knod, "But I know I need an administrators code. I was about to go get Ms.Rita, I just wanted to look at them first."
"No need. I can unlock it and give you one. I assume you know about the $25 a month fee." Ms.Prior says, getting up from her chair.

"No I didn't." I deflate. 

"Mrs.Eaton is your mother. I'm sure its well taken care of."

She walks towards me. I'm less than a foot away from the cart and her arm brushes against my chest when she reaches to put a code in a keypad on the outside of the black glass door. After a few electronic beeps the black glass detaches from the cart on one side. She bends over and picks up a clipboard from below the last row of tablets and her shoulder brushes against my chest. This time sending an electrifying current through my body.

"Your tablet number is 6873." Ms.Prior says, looking down at the papers on the clipboard.

She writes something down on the clipboard then turns it my way.

"Sign here." She tells me, pointing to the empty slot next to where she signed her own name.

I take the pen from her hand, sign the papers and hand it back. She puts the clipboard under her arm and unplugs a tablet. She unplugs the charger from the outlet in the back of the cart, wraps it around her hand and sets it on top of the tablet. She closes the door of the cart and reaches her hand out to me with the tablet in it. I take it from her hands and her fingers touch mine and my fingers grow warm and tingly.

"Thank you." I say, barely loud enough to be heard over the thumping AC behind me. 

"Laurel, how old are you?" Ms.Prior asks, staring at my face then down at my body then back up at my face.

"I'll be 18, on February 19th."

"That's good." She says, the corner of her mouth twitching.

It looks like she wants to laugh or smile maybe but won't let herself.

"I should go." I whisper, holding the tablet to my chest.

"That's probably a good idea." She says. 

I feel like I'm about to hyperventilate and I don't know why.

"See you tomorrow." Ms.Prior smiles slyly.

I blink and walk out of the teachers lounge and start for Mr.Lancaster's classroom. The farther I get from the teachers lounge the easier normal breathing starts to become.

What the hell is wrong with me?